The Bicycle Bell in the Break Room

The bicycle bell sits on the break room table, next to a pile of old timetables. Hedy notices it at six in the morning, when she sits down with her study book.

Bel sepeda itu tergeletak di meja ruang istirahat, di samping setumpuk jadwal lama. Hedy menyadarinya pukul enam pagi, ketika ia duduk dengan buku belajarnya.

She is nineteen, and she is a trainee at the bus depot. Tomorrow she takes her theory test, and she has not slept well for three nights. The break room is the only quiet place she knows. It has a coffee machine and a sofa with a broken spring. Its window looks onto the washing bay.

Ia berusia sembilan belas tahun, dan ia peserta magang di depo bus. Besok ia mengikuti ujian teori, dan ia tidak tidur nyenyak selama tiga malam. Ruang istirahat adalah satu-satunya tempat tenang yang ia tahu. Ada mesin kopi dan sebuah sofa dengan pegas patah. Jendelanya menghadap ke tempat pencucian bus.

The bell is small and silver. A thin scratch runs around it like a spiral. Hedy picks it up and presses the lever with her thumb.

Bel itu kecil dan keperakan. Sebuah goresan tipis melingkar mengelilinginya seperti spiral. Hedy mengambilnya dan menekan tuasnya dengan ibu jari.

Ring.

Kring.

Every head in the room turns. A driver with a newspaper frowns at her.

Setiap kepala di ruangan menoleh. Seorang sopir yang membaca koran mengerutkan kening kepadanya.

"Sorry," Hedy says. "I found it here. Does anyone know whose it is?"

"Maaf," kata Hedy. "Saya menemukannya di sini. Apakah ada yang tahu ini milik siapa?"

"Not mine," the driver says. "I don't even own a bicycle."

"Bukan milik saya," kata sopir itu. "Saya bahkan tidak punya sepeda."

She waits, but nobody else speaks. A rule on the notice board says that found things go to the cleaner on the morning shift. Hedy decides to follow it. She puts the bell in her pocket and goes to look for her.

Ia menunggu, tetapi tak ada orang lain yang bicara. Sebuah aturan di papan pengumuman mengatakan bahwa barang temuan diserahkan kepada petugas kebersihan shift pagi. Hedy memutuskan mengikutinya. Ia memasukkan bel itu ke sakunya dan pergi mencari petugas itu.

The cleaner is in the corridor, pushing a cart full of bottles and cloths. She stops and takes the bell between two fingers.

Petugas kebersihan itu ada di koridor, mendorong kereta penuh botol dan kain lap. Ia berhenti dan mengambil bel itu di antara dua jarinya.

"Pretty," she says. "But it belongs to a driver, I think. Those people always lose small things. Ask the early shift."

"Cantik," katanya. "Tapi kurasa itu milik seorang sopir. Orang-orang itu selalu kehilangan barang kecil. Tanyakan pada shift awal."

"The early shift left an hour ago," says Hedy.

"Shift awal sudah pulang satu jam lalu," kata Hedy.

"Then ask the night shift. They are just coming in." The cleaner puts the bell back into Hedy's hand and returns to her cart. "I cannot keep it. My cart already has too many bits and pieces."

"Kalau begitu tanyakan pada shift malam. Mereka baru masuk." Petugas itu mengembalikan bel itu ke tangan Hedy dan kembali ke keretanya. "Aku tidak bisa menyimpannya. Keretaku sudah terlalu penuh dengan barang-barang kecil."

Hedy looks at the bell. It is not her problem. She has a test tomorrow, and she has read only half of the chapter on road signs. Still, she cannot put the bell back on the table. It feels wrong, like leaving a lost glove on a wall.

Hedy menatap bel itu. Ini bukan masalahnya. Ia punya ujian besok, dan ia baru membaca separuh bab tentang rambu jalan. Tetapi ia tidak bisa meletakkan bel itu kembali di meja. Rasanya salah, seperti meninggalkan sarung tangan yang hilang di atas tembok.

At seven o'clock the night drivers come through the door, tired and slow. Hedy steps in front of the first one, a tall man with a large bag.

Pukul tujuh para sopir malam masuk melalui pintu, lelah dan lamban. Hedy melangkah ke depan sopir pertama, seorang pria jangkung dengan tas besar.

"Excuse me. Is this yours?"

"Permisi. Apakah ini milik Bapak?"

He holds it up to the light. "I wish it were. I like a good bell." He thinks for a moment. "Try the dispatch office. Someone there knows everything."

Ia mengangkatnya ke arah cahaya. "Andai saja iya. Saya suka bel yang bagus." Ia berpikir sejenak. "Coba ke kantor dispatcher. Seseorang di sana tahu segalanya."

The dispatch office is small and warm, and it smells of paper. The dispatcher has a headset on one ear and a pen behind the other. He listens to Hedy with one eye on his screen.

Kantor dispatcher itu kecil dan hangat, dan berbau kertas. Dispatcher mengenakan headset di satu telinga dan pulpen terselip di telinga yang lain. Ia mendengarkan Hedy dengan satu mata tertuju pada layarnya.

"Bicycle bell," he says. "I have never seen it before. Why do you ask me? I do not own a bicycle either."

"Bel sepeda," katanya. "Saya belum pernah melihatnya. Kenapa kamu bertanya kepada saya? Saya juga tidak punya sepeda."

"Everyone says to ask someone else," Hedy says.

"Semua orang menyuruh saya bertanya pada orang lain," kata Hedy.

"That is how a depot works." He smiles, then looks at the clock. "Go and talk to Elif. If anybody knows, she does. She has been here since before the roof was fixed."

"Begitulah cara kerja sebuah depo." Ia tersenyum, lalu melihat jam. "Temui Elif. Kalau ada yang tahu, dialah orangnya. Ia sudah di sini sejak sebelum atapnya diperbaiki."

Hedy hesitates. Elif is the driver who is training her. She is a quiet woman of fifty with short grey hair. She says very little, and when she speaks, it is usually to correct something. Hedy would prefer not to show her a problem that is not about buses.

Hedy ragu. Elif adalah sopir yang melatihnya. Ia seorang perempuan pendiam berusia lima puluh tahun dengan rambut kelabu pendek. Ia sangat sedikit bicara, dan ketika bicara, biasanya untuk mengoreksi sesuatu. Hedy lebih suka tidak menunjukkan masalah yang bukan tentang bus kepadanya.

But Elif is in the break room now, pouring coffee into a thick white mug. Hedy walks over and holds out the bell.

Tetapi Elif sekarang ada di ruang istirahat, menuang kopi ke dalam cangkir putih tebal. Hedy berjalan menghampiri dan mengulurkan bel itu.

"I am sorry to bother you. I found this, and I cannot find the owner."

"Maaf mengganggu, Bu. Saya menemukan ini, dan saya tidak bisa menemukan pemiliknya."

Elif looks at the bell for a long moment. She does not take it. Instead she says, "Where did you find it?"

Elif menatap bel itu lama. Ia tidak mengambilnya. Sebaliknya ia bertanya, "Di mana kamu menemukannya?"

"On the table. By the timetables."

"Di meja. Di dekat jadwal-jadwal."

"What time?"

"Jam berapa?"

"About six. It was there when I came in."

"Sekitar pukul enam. Bel itu sudah ada di sana ketika saya masuk."

"Who sat there before you?"

"Siapa yang duduk di sana sebelum kamu?"

Hedy opens her mouth, and then she closes it again. She has not asked anyone this question. She has asked only "Is it yours?" and every answer has been no.

Hedy membuka mulut, lalu menutupnya lagi. Ia belum menanyakan ini kepada siapa pun. Ia hanya bertanya "Apakah ini milik Anda?" dan setiap jawabannya tidak.

"I do not know," she admits.

"Saya tidak tahu," akunya.

"Then you have been asking the wrong people," Elif says gently. "Driving is mostly noticing. You look at the mirror, the road, the face of the person at the stop. A bell is the same. Look at it again."

"Kalau begitu kamu bertanya pada orang yang salah," kata Elif lembut. "Menyetir itu sebagian besar soal memperhatikan. Kamu melihat kaca spion, jalan, wajah orang di halte. Bel juga sama. Lihat lagi."

Hedy turns the bell in her hand. It has a small green sticker on the back, so faded that she nearly misses it. The sticker shows a frog with one eye closed.

Hedy memutar bel itu di tangannya. Ada stiker hijau kecil di bagian belakangnya, begitu pudar sampai ia hampir melewatkannya. Stiker itu bergambar seekor katak dengan satu mata terpejam.

"I have seen this frog," she says slowly.

"Saya pernah melihat katak ini," katanya pelan.

"Where?"

"Di mana?"

She thinks about the washing bay window, and the road beyond it. Every morning, around half past six, a girl on a bicycle crosses the depot yard. She delivers parcels to the office. She rides a white bike with a basket, and on the basket there is a green frog.

Ia memikirkan jendela tempat pencucian bus, dan jalan di baliknya. Setiap pagi, sekitar pukul setengah tujuh, seorang gadis bersepeda melintasi halaman depo. Ia mengantar paket ke kantor. Ia mengendarai sepeda putih dengan keranjang, dan di keranjang itu ada seekor katak hijau.

"The courier," Hedy says. "She comes every day with the post. She sits in here sometimes, to warm her hands."

"Kurir itu," kata Hedy. "Ia datang setiap hari membawa surat. Kadang ia duduk di sini untuk menghangatkan tangannya."

"Does she have a bell?"

"Apakah dia punya bel?"

Hedy tries to remember. She sees the girl's bike in her mind, bright against the grey yard. The handlebars are bare, with a tiny hole where something used to be.

Hedy mencoba mengingat. Ia melihat sepeda gadis itu dalam benaknya, cerah di tengah halaman yang kelabu. Setangnya kosong, dengan lubang kecil tempat sesuatu dulu terpasang.

"No," she says. "She does not have one now."

"Tidak," katanya. "Sekarang ia tidak punya."

Elif lifts her mug and drinks, as if the matter is closed. Hedy looks at the clock. It is nearly eight, and the courier has already come and gone. She will not return until tomorrow morning. By then Hedy will be sitting in a test room with her hands wet from worry.

Elif mengangkat cangkirnya dan minum, seolah-olah perkara itu sudah selesai. Hedy melihat jam. Hampir pukul delapan, dan kurir itu sudah datang dan pergi. Ia tidak akan kembali sampai besok pagi. Saat itu Hedy akan duduk di ruang ujian dengan tangan basah karena cemas.

She could leave the bell with the dispatcher. That would be a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

Ia bisa menitipkan bel itu pada dispatcher. Itu hal yang sangat masuk akal untuk dilakukan.

"I think I will wait by the gate," she says. "Maybe the courier comes back for something."

"Saya rasa saya akan menunggu di gerbang," katanya. "Mungkin kurir itu kembali mengambil sesuatu."

"Maybe," Elif says. Her face stays calm, but one corner of her mouth moves.

"Mungkin," kata Elif. Wajahnya tetap tenang, tetapi satu sudut mulutnya bergerak.

Hedy takes her study book and sits on the low wall by the depot gate. She reads about road signs and keeps one eye on the road. The page about priority at crossings is difficult. Outside, with the sound of engines and the smell of oil, she holds it in her head better. She reads the page twice. Then she reads it a third time with her eyes closed.

Hedy mengambil buku belajarnya dan duduk di tembok rendah dekat gerbang depo. Ia membaca tentang rambu jalan dan menjaga satu mata pada jalan. Halaman tentang hak utama di persimpangan sulit. Di luar, dengan suara mesin dan bau oli, ia lebih bisa mengingatnya. Ia membaca halaman itu dua kali. Lalu ia membacanya sekali lagi dengan mata terpejam.

At a quarter past nine she hears a bicycle. It comes fast around the corner, and the rider is standing on the pedals. It is the girl, and she looks upset. She stops by the gate and checks the ground, the wall and the gutter with a worried frown.

Pukul sembilan lewat seperempat ia mendengar sebuah sepeda. Sepeda itu datang cepat di tikungan, dan pengendaranya berdiri di atas pedal. Itu gadis tadi, dan ia tampak gelisah. Ia berhenti di dekat gerbang dan memeriksa tanah, tembok, dan selokan dengan kening berkerut cemas.

"Are you looking for this?" Hedy asks.

"Kamu mencari ini?" tanya Hedy.

She holds up the bell. The girl's face changes in a single second. She jumps off her bike and takes the bell with both hands.

Ia mengangkat bel itu. Wajah gadis itu berubah dalam sekejap. Ia melompat turun dari sepedanya dan mengambil bel itu dengan kedua tangan.

"Where was it?" she says. "I have looked everywhere. I came back twice."

"Di mana tadinya?" katanya. "Aku sudah mencari ke mana-mana. Aku sudah kembali dua kali."

"In the break room. You must have left it on the table this morning."

"Di ruang istirahat. Pasti kamu meninggalkannya di meja pagi tadi."

The girl presses the lever. Ring. The bell sounds clear and bright across the yard, and a pigeon flies off the roof. She laughs and covers her mouth.

Gadis itu menekan tuasnya. Kring. Bel itu berbunyi jernih dan cerah di seberang halaman, dan seekor merpati terbang dari atap. Ia tertawa dan menutup mulutnya.

"Thank you," she says. "You do not understand. It is the only thing I have from my brother."

"Terima kasih," katanya. "Kamu tidak mengerti. Ini satu-satunya barang yang kupunya dari kakakku."

She turns the bell over. Something small rattles inside it, a tiny sound like a seed in a shell. She looks up at Hedy as if she wants to say more.

Ia membalik bel itu. Sesuatu yang kecil bergemerincing di dalamnya, bunyi mungil seperti biji di dalam cangkang. Ia menatap Hedy seolah ingin berkata lebih banyak.

Then she closes her fingers around it and says nothing. Behind Hedy, the depot gate hums as it opens. A bus is coming in, and Elif is at the wheel.

Lalu ia menggenggamkan jari-jarinya di sekeliling bel itu dan tidak berkata apa-apa. Di belakang Hedy, gerbang depo berdengung saat terbuka. Sebuah bus masuk, dan Elif berada di belakang kemudi.